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26.11.15

Pauline wrote to ask what my favourite Snoopy fantasy figure was after my post about Snoopy and Peanuts in the 1980s.Well, Pauline, I have to say the classic Red Baron scenario is close, but my winner is Snoopy as a cowboy. I had the "howdy, pardner!" pic in my room (it dates from the mid-1980s) and found it a friendly and humorous companion!Cowboy Snoopy was very prevalent in merchandising during the 1980s (perhaps as a tribute to former actor Ronald Reagan, well known for his cowboy roles). I also have a Determined Productions plastic figure from 1983, with Snoopy in the cowboy role.Snoopy And The Gang Out West, a lovely book about the history and ways of the American Wild West, was published by Determined in 1983.Below is Snoopy, with Woodstock, in "hog heaven" with raisin corn bread, and the attendant recipe from the book.

12.11.15

My fiftieth birthday came and went in October with a great 1980s-themed party thrown for me by my wonderful family.It was a terrific occasion, I had many cards and gifts from family and friends, and was made to feel thoroughly special.One very thoughtful gesture of kindness came from my long-suffering personal trainer, Gary.Gary is a bloke who has contributed a great deal to my health and general well-being over the last few years as I have an illness which necessitates a fitness regime. Gary is a top bloke who endures my endless whitterings during each PT session. "Gary! Name three major events of 1982!" "Gary! Why can't they play more '80s music at this gym? This modern stuff is so weedy!" "Gary! Who played Archie Gibbs in Crossroads?" "Gary! I can't possibly go on the treadmill today - I was on my feet all day at work yesterday!"

And: "Gary! Don't you think Alannah Currie was the most beautiful pop star of the 1980s? Knocks spots off Madonna, doesn't she?"I've written about my love for Alannah elsewhere on this blog (check out the Thompson Twins label below) but the gym I attend is at a residential centre I lived in for a while in the 1980s, and visiting it always makes me feel nostalgic for those days, and reminds me of my passions and torments from way back then.

Oh, Alannah! Alannah! Be still my fluttering heart! She joined the Thompson Twins when they assumed their classic line-up (the one we all remember - Alannah, Tom Bailey and Joe Leeway) and changed musical direction (switching to synthesizers) in 1982, and her beauty and style captivated me.Being the absolute professional he is ("The customer is always right"), Gary always agrees with me about the loveliness of Alannah, although I know his tongue is firmly in his cheek. Anyway, for my birthday, completely out of the blue, he presented with me the home made Alannah card pictured above.And I was dead chuffed.And touched.Cheers, Gazza.But don't think I'm going on that treadmill, mateyboots...

The release of the first personal stereo in America in 1980 sparked a huge craze, and coincided with - and contributed to - the peak of the roller disco craze. Here's Snoopy, wired for sound.

What a decade for Snoopy and the Peanuts
gang the 1980s turned out to be! From Snoopy making his debut on home
video and computer games (anyone for Snoopy Tennis?), and the opening of Camp Snoopy at Knott's
Berry Farm, to Snoopy stepping out as Flash Beagle, Joe Vice and Boy George, and
the continuing cycle of life amongst our favourite American comic strip
characters as the strip roared towards its fortieth birthday in 1990,
the 1980s were a glittering time for the world's best-loved beagle and
his friends.And they brought new challenges - mostly from new heroes and anti-heroes of the comic strip world, Calvin and Hobbes and Garfield.
But Snoopy and co were well able to hold their own and, indeed, the
authors of the newcomers acknowledged Charles Schulz's wondrous
creations as an inspiration for their own works.

The Snoopy "1980 Collection" mugs. Just how different for America would the decade have been if Snoopy had been elected president in 1980, not Ronald Reagan?

1981 - and Hallmark released a charming series of Peanuts mini-photo frames. Snoopy - "A Real Inspiration", Snoopy love heart, and "Let The Good Times Roll" and Lucy - "Perfect Like Me" - were part of the series.

Camp Snoopy at Knott's Berry Farm opened in 1983. Snoopy looks great as a cowboy!

Continuing the cowboy theme, Snoopy says "Howdy!" This is very similar to a picture I had in my room in the 1980s, with the red and black background and orange frame, but the straw was absent from the mouth, the phrase was "Howdy, Pardner!" and the smile was wider and cheesier - more like a film star stereotype.

I adore Snoopy. As I set out on my life's journey in the early 1980s, I was given a small framed picture of Snoopy, dressed as a cowboy, with his thought bubble proclaiming "Howdy, Pardner!". I put it up on my bedsit wall. It was a comforting and encouraging presence in the room, and I found it very cheering. Now, with my 50th birthday just past, I have the May 1982 strip below framed on my hall wall. Isn't it fabulous? Snoopy is truly for the whole of your life, from the juvenile jollity of the cowboy pic to the oh-so-true advice for the rather more mature below, Snoopy hands out comforting hugs and sometimes pithy but always excellent advice to everybody. Forget the expensive jollop. There's really only one way to look younger...

Why is Peanuts such a worldwide hit? You don't have to speak English to enjoy it. It's been translated into many different languages, been a huge success in many different lands.The reason doesn't take much pondering. It's because Charles Schulz's work is so human. And if you're a human being it's for you.Well, my favourite character, Snoopy, is, of course, a dog.But such a human dog, with his fantasy life and zany personality.I've always been a bit theatrical myself, singing, dancing and experimenting with various characterisations throughout my life.Life's too short (and reality sometimes too grotty) to just be one person.So I identify with Snoopy.I'm also given to low periods in which my self esteem plummets and life becomes one long worry.So I identify with Charlie Brown.There are times when I ponder the mysteries of existence, search for the meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything and come up with some quite kooky ideas. So kooky, I could suck my thumb for comfort. So, I identify with Linus.

Many times I feel small and insignificant, totally swamped by the vastness of the world, the universe, and so on. And yet I have my life, my personality, my own pressing issues.

So I identify with Woodstock. And sometimes, when I'm tired or unwell, I can rant and gob-off a lot.So, I (occasionally) identify with Lucy.

1983 - and our very own Boy George's fashionable music loving friend, Boy Snoopy, appears as a cuddly toy. Was there ever such a trendy beagle as Snoop?

Fads and new technology came thick and fast in the 1980s: in the wake of Flash Dance,
Snoopy became Flashbeagle and got into aerobics; there was an outbreak
of "temperament" on the tennis court in 1982, after John McEnroe had
shaken up the staid atmosphere of Wimbledon in 1981; Lucy got some
designer jeans; beanbags proliferated; Marcie attempted to give
Peppermint Patty a very '80s hairdo - and Patty succumbed to some other
weird do's during the decade (anyone for mousse?); Valley Speak invaded
Peppermint Patty's schoolwork when her essay was graded "grody"; the aforementioned Peppermint P got a personal stereo; Trivia (as in
Trivial Pursuit) briefly ruled; Woodstock got a beagle blaster - and was
the only one in the neighbourhood to have a satellite dish; Charlie
Brown discussed yuppies; Sally waited for Halley's Comet; computers
began to accelerate into the everyday life of certain characters; and poor
lonely Spike wrote to some of the female cast of Dallas to request signed photographs.

One of my favourite pop culture inclusions from the decade came when Snoopy wondered if his old enemy, the Red Baron, might like a Garfield birthday card. Beautiful.

The Great Pumpkin was revisited on the animated screen in the 1980s Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show. Linus, Sally (she was there for her "sweet baboo", of course) wait... Sally's "sweet baboo" was not impressed by her presence. It seemed that it was going to be another long, cold and fruitless vigil..

... but then something came hurtling across the pumpkin patch... Had Linus's faith been rewarded at last?

Linus, my second favourite Peanuts character,
continued to be a (I mean THE) dedicated disciple of The Great Pumpkin in the 1980s,
and found that his evangelical fervour could be lucrative. In 1986, the
Great Pumpkin actually appeared (for us, not for Linus) and gave us a
quick burst of Sinatra, whilst Peppermint Patty introduced other
concepts - such as The Great Secretary, and became an involuntary
pumpkin wearer.The
1980s posed big questions for Linus - like how would he fare with a
"younger woman" and (GASP!) could he give up his beloved powder blue
blanket? No spoilers here!

The 1984 Snoopy Flashbeagle radio.

The sometimes harsh realities of life from an average kid's point of view were often present in Peanuts, but there
were many "ups" in the continuing saga, and when Peppermint Patty
succumbed to terrorizing herself over thoughts of the End of the World
in 1980, good friend Marcie was there to comfort her. And it was
touching. It's that same Marcie who called Peppermint Patty "Sir", and
let her down when the two became "Mallies" (trendy hangers-out at
shopping malls) by actually doing some shopping and being pursued by a
certain beagle "punker". But at the end of the day, Marcie was always
there for Patty.Yep, it was touching - but without being schmaltzy.

Friendship
can flip into temporary bouts of hatred, particularly when you're a
kid, and Marcie and Peppermint Patty's ongoing rivalry for Charlie
Brown's attentions actually caused Marcie to resort to hair-yanking
violence on one occasion in 1987. There had been minor spats
between the two friends before, and there were after. But this
particular incident revealed an angst-ridden, passionate soul lurking
behind Marcie's somewhat geeky exterior, and it was sad to note that her
relationship with Charlie Brown was largely all in her head (CB didn't
really reciprocate), just as it was with Peppermint Patty's pash for CB.
But, with rivalry reaching boiling point, it was almost like the kids
were reaching early teenage-hood at times.But, of course, they weren't.This particular strip marked a turning point in my perceptions of the Marcie character, it made her more real,
took her beyond being just a quirky and rather cute regular. I found
myself promoting her to a favourite character. A couple of years later,
parental expectations and the stress this induced in the girl rounded
her out even more.

1984 - and Snoopy - a legend in his own mind, is off to the Olympics with a terrific range of PVC figures. A little word about dating Peanuts merchandise here. Some will be dated to the year of manufacture, like the mugs and photo frames at the top of this post, but both dated products and others will probably also feature old copyright dates - 1958, 1965, etc. Bear this in mind as it can be puzzling to find merchandise copyright dated before the character depicted (Peppermint Patty, etc,) even existed, or with characters indulging in popular trends which postdate the copyright date(s) stamped on the item.

Some people think that Snoopy, whose character evolved more than somewhat in the 1960s, he of the Walter Mitty style fantasies, rather spoiled the reality of the strip. There's no doubt that the early years of the strip were grittier and somewhat darker at times. But latter-day Snoopy was wonderful. I wouldn't change a thing about him. I loved his caring relationship with Woodstock and his fantasies. But it always came back to reality - with Snoopy on his doghouse, often waiting for his supper. He always seemed a very heartening character to me, making the best of a rather boring existence. And overcoming the handicap of not being human and being able to fulfill his dreams with his fantasies.

At one point in the 1980s, Charlie Brown decided to devote his life to making Snoopy happy. He couldn't keep it up, and he couldn't, of course, read Snoopy's mind as Snoopy replied to Charlie's outpouring of regret at not being able to live up to his aim. Snoopy was already happy. Naturally. His fantasies transported him far away from the mundane realities of his suburban canine existence.

1984 - and with VCRs beginning to appear in more and more homes (in England still only around a quarter of the population had them in 1985), Snoopy's Home Video Library appeared in the States. Viewers could enjoy the exploits of the gang - including the awesome Lucy snatching the ball away from Charlie Brown - whenever they pleased.

What made America great? In the 1980s, we discovered that Peppermint Patty believed it
was peanut butter sandwiches. I find it interesting that most of the classroom comic strips from that decade feature Peppermint Patty and Marcie, rather than the older established characters. Of course, Peppermint P was SO interested in her education, she couldn't help nodding off!

In the hi-tec '80s, Snoopy made his debut in computer games - like this Game And Watch Panorama Screen...

... and this Nintendo Table Top Snoopy game..

Here's the game in action - with Snoopy, Schroeder (at his piano, of course!), Lucy and lots of little Woodstocks.Of the
characters who fell by the wayside as the strip evolved, early years
nasty girl Violet Gray made a few appearances in the 1980s - including an un-indexed
one which appears on page 126 of the 1981-1982 Complete Peanuts volume, in which she is, predictably
but enjoyably, snooty to Pigpen - another former regular from the early
years.

Violet's role as nasty girl was taken over by Lucy Van Pelt, who was rather more likable (well, it wasn't her fault she had crabby genes!). I thought Violet's loss was a shame in some ways - Lucy couldn't "do" snooty at all! But, taken all in, I wouldn't have been without Lucy, she was a far more rounded character, and I suppose her presence meant there was little space in the stories for Violet.

A brief blow-in in the mid-1980s was a character called Tapioca Pudding, whose father was "in licensing" and, it seemed, wanted to use his daughter's image on various products. As well as that popular cutesy dolly Strawberry Shortcake, this reminded me of a 1960s Bewitched story, in which Samantha created a doll based on her own daughter - "The Tabitha Stephens Doll" - to get her husband out of trouble with the advertising company he worked for.

There's now't as queer as folk, as we say here in England.

Probably the ultimate piece of 1980s Snoopy imagery - Charles Schulz gave us Joe Vice in 1986. Forget the Miami version, Crockett and Tubbs? Pah! Snoops and Woodstock were the real deal!

This poster is from a 1986 Peanuts strip - featuring the ever-trendy Snoopy getting down to some serious aerobics, courtesy of a video. Jane Fonda eat your heart out! We love ya, Snoops!

Wow - how's this for a 1980s Peanuts cardigan?! Woodstock, Snoopy and Marcie are indulging in a little chatline chat. Chatlines were a great innovation - hugely enjoyable - until your parents got the phone bill. Peanuts was marketed to the max for decades. But that was OK, because the strip had soul.So, which era is my favourite for Peanuts? Is it the 1980s? Well, funnily enough, although the 1980s are when I first came to really appreciate the strip, I would have to say no. Much as I love the 1980s Snoopy gang's exploits, having read the Complete Peanuts books, which feature every strip from its beginning in 1950, I would have to say that the 1950s and 1960s take the prize. Reading the debut and evolution of Peanuts has been a tremendous pleasure for me. In the 1970s and 1980s the strip was fully formed and up-and-running. And whilst the 1980s contain probably my favourite Peanuts strip ever ("Don't be born so soon"), and I certainly don't think the strip ever "flagged", I find the first fifteen to twenty years tremendously exciting to read. And re-read. What I missed! Still, I'm glad I wasn't born any sooner (!), and thank heavens for the Complete Peanuts series!

Here's more pearls of wisdom from the 1980s Peanuts strip - this time from Marcie. Charles Schulz was a wise man!

Sadly, Charles Schulz died in the year 2000 and Peanuts came to an end just before his death. But the characters have lived on through republished strips and merchandising and we're shortly to see the new Peanuts Movie.

Snoopy's a cowboy again in this 1987 collection of Peanuts comic strips, complete with neon cacti.

Here in England, Peanuts inspired The Perishers comic strip, which appeared in The Daily Mirror for many years. But while I loved Maisie, Marlon, Wellington and Boot, I loved (and still love) Snoopy far more. National boundaries or oceans were no challenge for Snoopy. He simply ignored them, flew over them (probably in his Sopwith Camel), and stole my heart away.

Legal beagle Snoopy in England - depicted in this wonderful 1986 lamp, with one of our iconic old-style telephone boxes. If I'd known he was coming, I'd've baked a cake - or some of his beloved chocolate chip cookies!

11.11.15

The Peckham Trotters in the 1980s. They bickered and fell out, they loved and supported each other - and Grandad watched two tellies at the same time. Just like any other family. Apart from that last bit.I've had an interesting e-mail from Starvo. Here's an extract:I know Only Fools... is one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, and that it began in the 1980's which you write about on here, but don't you think the revelation that Del and Rodney Trotter were only half-brothers spoiled it a bit? The writer had spent a lot of time building up a believable sibling relationship between the two lead characters, only to make a mockery of it with that. And it meant Rodney wasn't really related to Grandad at all. I felt let down.Why did you, Starvo? I know a couple of "siblings" today who are "only" half-siblings, but they think the world of each other and have a better relationship than many full-siblings I know. Similarly, I know a "brother" and "sister" who are really only halves, but are unaware of the fact because according to their birth certificates they have the same father. And there are half-siblings in my family, too.I think the "only" you use to describe the half-sibling bond between Del and Rodney is in a way quite sensible, after all they share half the same origins, not full, but in other ways it's quite odd because it implies that the relationship is less important than full-siblings. I don't believe that is often the case. When I wrote my Only Fools And Horses article on here, I didn't use "only" to describe the tie because Del and Rodney, I simply stated that they were actually half-brothers.As for Grandad not being a blood relation of Rodney's, I suppose he wasn't. But he was still Rodney's grandad in every other way that mattered.I think that was one of the greatest things about OFAH. The unity and love of the Trotter family, despite the fact that things were not quite as they might seem, and the situation not being as "respectable" as our squeaky clean 21st Century pundits might like it. Sometimes I think the attitudes of this century are far more old fashioned than the last.Just a thought to leave you on: step-siblings and adopted siblings have no shared blood at all. Does that make the strong and very real sibling bonds that often exist between them any less real or important than blood-related full siblings? And if not, why did the revelation in OFAH that Del and Rodney were half-brothers make you think that it made a "mockery" of the close sibling relationship between the two?

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INTRODUCTION

The '80s Actual blog is designed to be an antidote to all those television shows and on-line articles of recent years which examine pop culture - and frequently get it hopelessly wrong! If you sat watching the BBC's "I Love The 1970s" and exclaimed over items being shown "I could swear that was 1968!" or "Wasn't that 1981?" chances are you were right.

If you look at certain '70s fan sites and think a lot of the material written about is actually from the '80s, you are almost certainly correct.

If on-line encyclopedia articles which state that pop culture of 1983 is really 1977, or similar, have you wishing for reality, then '80s Actual is for you.

There is a huge drive in the media and on-line to negate the 1980s, to attribute that decade's innovations and fond memories to other decades, and basically to present it as a completely vapid ten years, not worthy of examination.

I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's just comforting to have a decade people can scapegoat and declare "HORRIBLE"?

This blog is based on actual memories, media footage (thank you, YouTube!) and snippets of newspaper and magazine articles from the 1980s. If you read it here, I think you can rest assured it's accurate, though I can take no responsibility for the newspaper reports from the decade!The '80s Actual blog examines the decade's news stories - from the emergence of Lady Diana Spencer into the public eye in 1980, to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Was it simply "The Greed Decade" as many like to claim? I think not - the '80s saw the emergence of yuppies, but also Red Wedge, the Greenham Common Peace Women, and increasing concern for the environment. It may be convenient to scapegoat the '80s as the cause of all known ills, but the reality of the decade was far different - absolute bedlam, as Right fought Left, idealism fought corporate ambition. The election ofRonald Reagan as American President in 1980, and his second victory in 1984, had a far more decisive effect on the international political landscape than the three successive general election victories of UK Prime MinisterMargaretThatcher in 1979, 1983 and 1987.

Musically, the 1980s saw the beginnings of House Music, the exciting and still evolving world of synths taking centre stage, the evolvement of Rap music into the fully-fledged Hip Hop scene, Band Aid and Live Aid, great Indie, startling Acid House, and Raves...

And there was so much more! The decade truly had something for everyone - and provided a welcome escape for a while from the long-running and boring saga of flared trousers as fashion, begun back in the 1960s!

There are also also '80s Actual sister blogs taking us back to the '70s and '60s - The Real 1970s and Spacehopper.The view of the 1980s presented here is from an English perspective - much of the original '80s material used is from England, but I hope this blog will prove useful and enjoyable to people in the other nations of the UK and much further afield.